Dock worker: means a person employed or to be employed in, or in the vicinity of, any port on work in connection with the loading, unloading, movement or storage of cargoes, or work in connection with the preparation of ships or other vessels for the receipt or discharge of cargoes or leaving port;
Scheme for employment
S 3. Scheme for ensuring regular employment of workers.—(1) Provision may be made by a scheme for the registration of dock workers and employers with a view to ensuring greater regularity of employment and for regulating the employment of dock workers, whether registered or not, in a port.
(2) In particular, a scheme may provide—
(a) for the application of the scheme to such classes of dock workers and employers as may be specified therein;
(b) for defining the obligations of dock workers and employers subject to the fulfilment of which the scheme may apply to them and the circumstances in which the scheme shall cease to apply to any dock workers or employers;
(c) for regulating the recruitment and entry into the scheme of dock workers, [and the registration of dock workers and employers], including the maintenance of registers, the removal either temporarily or permanently, of names from the registers and the imposition of fees for registration;
(d) for regulating the employment of dock workers, whether registered or not, and the terms and conditions of such employment, including rates of remuneration, hours of work and conditions as to holidays and pay in respect thereof;
(e) for securing that, in respect of periods during which employment, or full employment, is not available for dock workers to whom the scheme applies and who are available for work, such workers will, subject to the conditions of the scheme, receive a minimum pay;
(f) for prohibiting, restricting or otherwise controlling the employment of dock workers to whom the scheme does not apply and the employment of dock workers by employers to whom the scheme does not apply;
[(ff) for creating such fund or funds as may be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the scheme and for the administration of such fund or funds;]
(g) for the training of dock workers, in so far as satisfactory provision therefore does not
exist apart from the scheme;
[(gg) for the welfare of the officers and other staff of the Board;]
(i) for the manner in which, and the persons by whom, the cost of operating the scheme is to be defrayed;
[(j) for constituting the authority to be responsible for the administration of the scheme;]
(k) for such incidental and supplementary matters as may necessary or expedient for the purposes of the scheme.
(3) A scheme may further provide that a contravention of any provision thereof shall be punishable with imprisonment for such term as may be specified but in no case exceeding three months in respect of a first contravention or six months in respect of any subsequent contravention, or with fine which may extend to such amount as may be specified but in no case exceeding five hundred rupees in respect of a first contravention or one thousand rupees in respect of any subsequent contravention, or with both imprisonment and fine as aforesaid.
Dock Labour Boards for implementation of Scheme said above
Dock Labour Boards.—(1) The Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, establish a Dock Labour Board for a port or group of ports to be known by such name as may be specified in the notification.
5B. Functions of a Board.—(1) A Board shall be responsible for administering the scheme for the port or group of ports for which it has been established and shall exercise such powers and perform such functions as may be conferred on it by the scheme.
Calcutta Dock Labour Board was constituted under Section 5A of the Dock Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act, 1948 with the objective of regulation of employment of Dock workers in connection with handling of cargo on board the vessel in the Port of Kolkata within the limits from Konnagar to Budge-Budge. The Board started functioning since 5th October, 1953.There is a 15 member Board, five representing Central Govt., 5 from labour unions and 5 from employers of dock workers and shipping companies. At present the Board is administering two schemes i.e Calcutta Dock Workers (Regulation of Employment) Scheme, 1970 and Calcutta Dock Clerical & Supervisory (Regulation of Employment) Scheme, 1970.
